Plainclothes (TV series)

Plainclothes
Created by
  • Maureen Sinton
  • Ray Van Beynen
Written by
Directed by
  • Chris Bailey
  • John Laing
  • Wayne Tourell
  • Brian McDuffie
  • Steve Mann
Starring
Country of originNew Zealand
Original languageEnglish
No. of seasons1
No. of episodes26
Production
Executive producerJohn Barnett
Producers
  • Maureen Sinton
  • Tim Sanders
CinematographyMichael O'Connor
EditorNick Malmholt
Running time45 minutes
Original release
Release15 March (1995-03-15) –
6 September 1995 (1995-09-06)

Plainclothes is a New Zealand police drama television series. It ran from March[1] until September 1995.[2] It performed well in the ratings, averaging over 430,000 viewers.[3] It was axed after one season.[4]

Synopsis

Detective Sergeant Georgina "George" Samuels leads a team of plainclothes police officers while having to deal with a sexist boss

Cast

  • Rhondda Findleton as DS Georgina Samuels
  • Sean Duffy as Det LP Pitt
  • Pete Smith as Det Oscar Kingi
  • Erik Thomson as PC James Rose
  • Gillian Baxter as PC Linda O'Connor
  • Alan Dale as Sen Sgt Mitch Mitchell
  • Shane Wong as DC Paddy Lim
  • Carmel McGlone as Helena Mitchell
  • Brenda Kendall as Lilly Thomas
  • Dale Corlett as Noel Little
  • Amber Sainsbury as Tessa Samuels

Reception

Commenting on the first episode Phil Wakefield of the Evening Post gave it a mixed review saying "While tonight's premiere is as routine as police work itself, it shows promise in the performances, characterisations and dialogue."[5] Also in the Evening Post Russell Mark gave it a mixed review commenting "But while the cast has been saddled with a substandard script, there is still plenty to recommend Plainclothes. The acting is top shelf and they've packed so many characters into the squadroom that there's plenty of potential for future programmes."[6] He wrote of a later episode that the show "continues to go from weakness to weakness."[7]

References

  1. ^ "Policing in Plainclothes", The Evening Post, 13 March 1995
  2. ^ Anamika, Vasil (4 September 1995), "Broadcaster faces questions", The Dominion
  3. ^ "Cupid strikes for police chief", The Evening Post, 6 September 1995
  4. ^ "Plainclothes gets the chop", The Dominion, 9 September 1995
  5. ^ Wakefield, Phil (15 March 1995), "A Kiwi cop show cut From too plain a cloth", The Evening Post
  6. ^ Mark, Russell (20 March 1995), "Plainclothes low-budget law and order", The Evening Post
  7. ^ Mark, Russell (17 April 1995), "Rich boys' hi-tech duelling on the water", The Evening Post